Beginnings and Passings

DeWayne made it home from Oklahoma City last night, happy to have been able to spend several days with his family and friends.  He was able to do all the shopping for much needed articles while he was there and came home with the truck loaded with new sewer hose, an air compressor,  a really nice lawn chair for me and several more items.

We worked today to further organize things as well as doing some maintenance and repair jobs around the RV.  Other than going through everything thoroughly to weed out more excess “stuff”, getting my necklace inspected for warranty purposes,  and me finding my stovetop percolator, we will be ready to hit the road in a day or two. 

And we’re ready and excited to head north to Wisconsin to visit my sister and her husband before turning toward the west coast of Washington state. 

So much more to see and do!

Daddy knocked on the door today to tell me that I should go and take a look at the “toadstools” out under the peach trees south of the house, so after a while I grabbed the camera and went to investigate.  Wow, I was shocked at what I found!  I’ve never seen toadstools so big.  There were two big ones and I laid a regular size water hose close to them to get pictures so that you can get a better perspective of their size.


And since I was in the area of Eula’s big flower bed, I had to get a shot or two of the newest blooms and plants.


The weather has been HOT and humid, but at least the wind has been blowing to help.  The heat index was 110 yesterday, so it’s that time of year here at home and we’ve had enough already.  The temps in Wisconsin are in the 70’s, so we’re anxious to get on our way.

I’ve been really sad today.  I had a good friend in high school and we were friends until our kids were toddlers and I moved away.  We lost touch until the 80’s when I briefly moved back to the home town, but then lost touch again.  I was curious about her when I became facebook friends with her ex-sister-in-law, so I asked her about my friend.  She replied with the sad news that my friend had passed away in December, so I spent last night and today sadly going down memory lane.

Then today, I found out that another dear friend of mine passed away on the 3rd of the month and her funeral was held this week and it felt like I had been punched in the stomach, literally.  Her name was Debbie Githens-Huggins, a hard working, caring and colorful fellow director of another DV/SA agency in Oklahoma.  Debbie was one of the most passionate crusaders I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with and she was loved by all of us.  I looked forward to every Coalition meeting and the opportunity to share a committee project or just a great visit with Debbie.  Her passion and dedication came through loud and clear at steering committee meetings, mixed with her “colorful” language and the ability to make us all laugh during a particularly tedious argument or agenda item.  I loved her and will miss her terribly.  Here is just a small part of her accomplishments as an advocate for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault:

"Throughout her career in victim services, Debbie served as a leader and policy-maker at the local and state level. She was a founding member of the Grady County Child Advocacy Team and Board, served on the interagency council, and provided consultation to multiple professionals in the local community. Debbie also served on the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services Advisory Council and chaired the Oklahoma Attorney General's Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Advisory Council for four years. Debbie has been a leader in the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault for 25 years, where she has chaired the Steering Committee, By-laws Committee and Professional Development Committee. She was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Oklahoma Sexual Assault Task Force. Debbie was responsible for crafting policy and legislation to foster justice and create safer communities for women, children and men."

Rest in Peace, Debbie.  I’ll miss you.